Top engineering graduate programs expect applicants to have a high GPA, and some schools also expect an impressive GRE score, though in recent years, more schools have made GRE scores optional. However, many of the applicants you will be competing against have high scores.
Your statement of purpose (SOP) is what will allow the adcom to view you as a person with unique goals, potential, interests, values, inspirations, and motivations. It helps adcoms understand what drives you, what your short- and long-term goals are, and how their school can help you realize your dreams. This is the part of the application that enables the adcom to assess whether you are a good match for their program.
Your SOP will ideally include the following:
While it’s important to include the elements listed in the previous section, a winning essay is also creative and interesting to the reader. It is not formulaic and shouldn’t read like a checklist.
In essence, you are telling a story – your story. An engineer recently said to me in a somewhat panicked voice, “I know how to write facts; I don’t know how to tell a story!” The typical MBA candidate loves to discuss their background and is frequently delighted to relate the many exciting adventures they’ve had. In contrast, if I say to an engineering candidate, “Tell me about yourself,” I am sometimes met with silence and a reluctance to divulge personal information.
Engineers are taught to think logically, rationally, in black-and-white facts and figures where there is a right and a wrong answer. A graduate school application expects you to explore the “gray” in your life. What made you decide on that option? What motivated you to take that action? Why is it important to you? There is no right or wrong, which can be freeing.
Engineering schools want to know what or who inspired you to become an engineer. At what age did you first believe that this was the right career path for you, and why? You need to step away and look at your life with a level of objectivity, so that you can explain your life trajectory and the reasons you took certain turns.
Most schools have a page or word limit for their SOP, but don’t let that inhibit you when you’re first creating your story from your outline. A good engineering admissions consultant can help you tell your story effectively and still meet the word limit requirements. Telling that story compellingly sometimes requires multiple drafts, and some of my past clients wrote as many as 12 drafts before they were satisfied with the final product.
As with the other elements of the application, give yourself sufficient time to write your SOP. It can be the reason the adcom at the engineering graduate program you’re targeting decides in favor of your admission.
With 30 years of career and admissions experience at four universities, including Cornell’s College of Engineering and Johnson Business School, Dr. Karin Ash facilitated students’ entry into the world’s best companies. As an adcom member, she also evaluated applications and therefore knows what schools and employers seek. Want Karin to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!
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